


Good Morning, Allison

by Achicleos



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: an apology for my last work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:26:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7815889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achicleos/pseuds/Achicleos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allison wakes to Renee's empty bed- she investigates around the Fox Tower and finds some unlikely surprises.</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Everyone is gay. Kevin drinks nasty smoothies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Morning, Allison

The Fox Tower was quiet for a Thursday. It was a bank holiday in the third month into the semester, and the air was frigid with November. Snow hadn't yet reached their part of South Carolina but it was clear enough that it wouldn't be long; windows were double glazed with frost, trees bare as wire, candles winked in most windows. 

One particular room on the third floor of the Fox Tower had clearly transitioned from autumn to winter. The sickly sweet smell of sugar cookies and peppermint burned in the air, accompanied by the perpetual scent of expensive perfume and air fresheners. The ladies' room always drew the nose this time of year. Nicky was always fooled into thinking they were baking in there, but it was just candles. 

Allison woke early that day and decided to light the candles to dispel the lonely chill from the room. When the scent of Winter Glaze washed over her, it was almost as good as a familiar set of arms, clinging to her so not to fall while ice skating, or drunkenly down a flight of stairs. Holding her almost as tightly as she'd held him. 

Allison shivered. Renee's bed was empty; probably out with Andrew; and Dan stayed with Matt last night. All alone. 

Shower, makeup, clothes, hair. Heels. A practical pair with a wider stiletto in case the ground was iced. She debated wearing the hoodie at the bottom of her drawer, far too large for her frame and embroidered with a name that didn't belong to her. But it wasn't wise. Another glance at Renee's neatly made empty bed and she decided there were closer things to reach for. 

An hour passed and Renee still hadn't returned. Concern grew when she didn't answer any of Allison's texts. Renee wasn't usually gone so long, even with Andrew. Allison had to investigate. 

The Foxes had never been many but the recent recruits filled their dorms, leaving little space to breathe without someone threatening to kill you. It was always on Allison's conscious to suggest to her parents that the dorms were inadequate for space. It would hardly be a dent in their bank account. Of course she'd have to get Wymack's approval and he'd already turned down plenty of her suggestions. For example, elevators.

She checked in with Matt and Dan first, unsurprised to be shouted at through a flurry of blankets being thrown over bare bodies and Matt's embarrassed whine. Once they'd calmed down, they said Renee hadn't visited, please leave, we're busy. Allison winked at Dan before she closed the door. Memories threatened her conscious but it was getting easier every day to take a deep breath. She had to find Renee. 

Nicky answered the monsters' room. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, hair sticking in every possible direction. Behind him in the room was Andrew and Neil on the couch, asleep, with Kevin drinking something thick and green on the bean bag chair. Nicky opened the door wider so she could get an eyeful of Neil's head resting on Andrew's chest, both looking quiet in a way that so rarely could be spotted by outsiders. It filled her heart with warmth to see Neil sleeping so soundly.

Nicky confirmed that Andrew hadn't left nor had he heard from Renee. Awareness was bringing him from his tired state but Allison assured she could find Renee herself. Even as Kevin glared at her she ordered Nicky to get some more sleep. Cheerily, he agreed and closed the door in her face. A warm puff of air stirred her hair, the ghost of a monster's life. 

There was no reason to check the last rooms; Renee had no business with the underclassmen. Did she? Renee wasn't a woman to assume about. It was worth checking. 

The first room held Lizzy and Sheena but neither answered. The last was Jack and Alexander's, though Alex was rarely there. He was rarely anywhere, come to think of it. 

Jack was awake but he didn't answer. Through the door Allison could hear Jack's voice but not his words. Allison knocked again, louder, still no answer. 

The thing about Jack was that no one, not even his buddy Sheena, liked him. This was because he simply refused to be liked. He would put a toe in the waters of civility only to pull back and replace it with snakes. However, Allison happened to have a good nose for truths and wasn't unfamiliar with the nasty attitudes created from nasty lives. They wouldn't be Foxes if they weren't from somewhere with a bad name, and Jack was no different, but really, he held onto it like a lifesaver. The kid was almost as chalked up in lies as Neil was when he first came to them, but in a very different way. For starters, Neil wasn't the most insufferable person in the room, even beating Andrew. But, as with Neil, there was always something called truth underneath the mess people made of themselves, and it applied to Jack too. Allison could smell it. 

Normally, Allison was not one to intrude. Literally. It was just that she could have sworn she heard music playing, and that was definitely Jack in there, doing something as close to singing as he seemed to be able to get. Some morals were meant to be challenged. 

After a silent apology to Renee, she turned the handle on the dorm room, unsurprised to find it unlocked. Typical of Jack to be so irresponsible. The room opened to one identical to her own in size; she wondered if Jack ever felt lonely when he woke up to so much space. Probably not. He repelled people about as much as he despised them. 

Rock music was playing in the kitchen, just quiet enough not to cause a disturbance. Allison followed it and immediately had to cover her mouth to hide her laugh. 

"SHOT THROUGH THE HEART," Jack whisper-shouted into an invisible microphone. His stance was wide and all rockstar, bare feet tapping on the porcelain tile. "YOU'RE TO BLAME, BABY, YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME!"

Allison snorted. Jack spun around so fast his elbow banged on the sink with a sound that made even Allison cringe. He was wearing his usual workout attire, having already gone to the gym. Sometimes, Allison wanted to say something about this habit about day and night workouts but she knew he wouldn't listen. 

"What the fuck are you doing in here?!" Jack cursed again as he clutched at his elbow. With an angry pointer finger he turned off the radio, eyes deeply glaring. It was probably the least intimidating she had ever seen him. 

"Looking for Renee. Is she here?"

"You fucking– _No_ , she's not here. Why would she be here?"

Renee truly was the top priority but this was gold. Why hadn't she thought to bring her phone? It would have been filmed and in the group chat before Jack could say "Whatever."

Allison surveyed the room, never having seen how Jack lived before. For all his complaints about the plants in the hallway he sure did have a lot of his own. On the sink, the windowsill, even a little cactus perched on top of the fridge, seemingly not fitting anywhere else. There was also a startling amount of candles but none that Allison recognized; they had to be bought from off brands and generic stuff she should never lay hands on. There was no confederate flag hanging on the wall or TRUMP magnet on the fridge. It was entirely possible that Allison was, once again, right. Jack was not the little monster he made himself out to be. 

"Get the fuck out, you look stupid all dressed up indoors."

Well, not completely. 

Allison held up her hands in defense. She'd already seen enough. "I'm going, baby fox, but I would be careful if I were you."

As she walked away, Jack's big-up voice, the one where he pretended and failed not to be intimidated, called, "Why?"

At the door she stopped. She turned in a wind of gold and faux fur. It didn't escape her notice that Jack seemed interested in the fur vest she wore, as her clothes often did catch his eye. It wasn't attraction - Allison knew what attraction looked like. It was something not to be teased, so she did not. "Because now I've got blackmail," she said, grinning wide. With a wave of her fingers she continued her quest. 

Oh, the morning was looking up. 

Later, Allison found Renee in their room. When queried, a look of utter innocence pulled down on Renee's face. Her hair looked especially wind blown, striking across her forehead in colors of blue and pink and yellow. The prettiest flower, blossomed still in the November winter. An unbelievable purse came upon her lips. 

"I was just shopping," Renee said. 

Allison wanted to move the hair from her forehead. She nodded; it wasn't strange for them to start their Christmas shopping so early, what with the Foxes leaving the Tower at Christmas. 

She didn't notice the sweet, hopeful smile from Renee when her back was turned but she did see part of it as she explained the events of the morning.


End file.
